Audio 2

An evaluation meeting convened by Masaka
District COVID-19 task force on Wednesday ended in bitter exchanges as members
vented out their anger against the LC V Chairperson, Jude Mbabali. The taskforce members had converged at
Kijjabwemi Rehabilitation Center in Masaka town to take stock of their response
operations against the spread of coronavirus in the area.

The LC V Chairperson, Jude Mbabali came under
fire from members led by Masaka Resident District Commissioner and Task force chairperson, Herman Ssentongo who accused him of frustrating their efforts. They accused him of sending out messages
about the COVID-19 status in the district without authorisation from the task force
hence triggering unnecessary panic in the community.

The meeting also reproduced Mbabali’s social medial post in,
which he disputed the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported from Masaka, saying
they are more than the official number. On March 30th, Mbabaali announced a
total lock down in Masaka district through his social media wage due to what he
described as a very big threat of COVID19 because of several confirmed cases.

He
claimed that the decision for the total shut down had been arrived at by a District
Taskforce comprising medical, technical teams and local security commanders. Ssentongo also accused Mbabali of deliberately
avoiding Task force and other coordination meetings but continues to send out
messages through various media platforms that shade a wrong picture about the
situation and case incidences in the area.

He also noted that despite the district
receiving two consignments of medical supplies and sundries from the Health
Ministry to manage the situation, Mbabali has continuously faulted government
and the Health Ministry of ignoring their pleas.

//Cue in: “Chairman wa
district….

Cue out; ….kwongerayo
gw’akusatu.”//

The task force unanimously asked Mbabali to desist from
sending out messages before making consultations with the technical
persons. In his response, Jude Mbabali lashed out at the
technical teams citing lack of transparency, which raises suspicion.

He also
defended his communication, saying it is usually coined with essential public
concerns and observation, which the task force could have ignored.